Having just returned from the 14th Annual HR Technology Conference and Exposition in Las Vegas, I can safely assert a truism that I believe all attendees will corroborate – this is the preeminent HR collective where actual business gets done.

What Type of Business, Exactly?

The beauty of this event is that every type of imaginable commerce fills the halls, briefing rooms, expo booths, plenary sessions, hospitality suites, evening events and intimate dinners. Whether you’re a VC seeking to invest in the highly lucrative human capital space or a CHRO who has been tasked with securing the proper solution to what ails you, this is the place to be. Analysts swarm through a cacophony of client and provider briefings. Providers explore and consummate reseller, co-marketing, OEM or M&A transitions among their peers. Practitioners digest and procure the latest thought leadership and solutions on mission critical topics ranging from workforce analytics and talent management to social media and the candidate experience. Pundits engage in punditry. Bloggers blog. Tweeters tweet. Action is taken, minds are expanded and relationships are built.

This is why we take time from our busy schedules to throw ourselves into a foreign environment for 3+ days of frenetic activity. Over the years this particular machine has perpetuated itself because everyone who you would want to meet is either in attendance or wishing they could be. And I mean everyone.

Seriously Though, How Was It?

This was a banner year for the ever-expanding and constantly changing HR technology industry and Bill Kutik and the entire LRP team should be applauded for pulling off record attendance and a terrific event.

Could some of the signage have been better? Yes. Was the sponsored wifi (thank you ADP) spotty and unpredictable? Yes. Did some practitioners and vendors lose their minds, drink too much, make out with strangers and pass out in front of slot machines with their badges still on? Oh yes, they did (see me offline for photographic evidence of said monkey business). But perhaps the “work hard/play hard” adage shouldn’t exclude the thousands of attendees who worked their tails off during the day only to shake their tails off after dark.

It was Vegas after all.

What’s The Big Takeaway?

There is so much to consider when attending this event that I believe the biggest challenge is time management. One finds themselves in a constant trade off between dozens of competing priorities and opportunities.

Last year I mentioned that briefings were taking a valuable number of attendees away from the well-planned session content – this year was no exception. There are at least a hundred people that I wanted to see and there simply was not enough time for all. As I sip a strong coffee (did I mention it was in Vegas?) and attempt to recalibrate my sleep cycle I can’t help but wonder how the show could either be expanded or slightly reorganized to allow for the consumption of more meaningful content. Fortunately I’m just a lowly consultant so these issues are better left to conference organizers.

Final Thoughts?

This is best review I’ve ever given to a conference and there’s a reason. No, I was not paid to plug the event (quite to the contrary). Instead, I simply believe that we often struggle to find a place where we can combine our passion for our industry with the love of those who serve it. To progress professionally while engaging personally is a fine balance that’s rarely attained. I’d like to congratulate this event for walking that tightrope to the benefit of all.

As one first time conference goer told me, “The difference I see in this event is that the advice is truly actionable. It makes me feel like there is not only an energized purpose to my HR work but that I can actually pull it off!” You can. And if you can’t, I’m sure there are a few thousand fellow attendees who can show you the way. Well done all and I’ll see you next year in Chicago.

Kutik and fellow co-chair David Shadovitz have really stepped things up for 2010 and some of the individuals that I most admire in the industry will be active and vocal participants for this year’s festivities. And there’s something for everyone, including:

• Naomi Bloom and Jim Holincheck going mano y mano in “The Great Technology Debate”
• Lexy Martin unveiling her 13th Annual CedarCrestone HR Systems Survey
• Phil Fersht and Lowell Williams showing off their big brains in “The Great Service Delivery Debate”
• Laurie Ruettimann as the Pied Piper of new media in her “Twitterversity” tutorial
• Kris Dunn introducing you to some of the freshest voices in the market via his “Blogger Insight Panel”
• Jason Averbook and Gerry Crispin returning to moderate their respective (and respected) panels on talent management and job boards

And if you’re really not into great content, you can network your way to success on the expo floor, at the tweetup, over dinners, coffee meetings and the like. This is the one event that players in our industry do not miss, period.

Finally, I’d ask you to come so you can ridicule and humiliate me personally. Last year I was openly critical of the “Shootout” that HR Tech is famous for. In a very tactical and creative move, HR Technology has silenced yours truly by getting me personally involved. This year’s Shootout is now plural as my good friends Steve Boese, Mike Krupa and I will each be moderating (and judging) head-to-head battles between some of the industry’s top service providers. Let’s see if I do any better.

Oh… one last important note. Because Bill loves me and I love you, he’s offered you a discount on conference registration. Simply click here now and enter promotion code “INFLEXION10″ (note that this is case sensitive) for $500 off the onsite price. I may even let you buy me a drink with your savings.

(Checking my notes)…. okay, let’s review. Great show. Great content. Great people. The great Stelzner. Great discount. Well, that about sums it up. If you have thoughts about this show, the schedule, what I should wear or how death feuding vendors should be judged, please share your comments below. I’ll look forward to seeing you there.

Case Zero – How It All Began

In his 2008 HR Executive article, columnist Bill Kutik unleashed his inner Indiana Jones to discover anthropological evidence supporting the first documented case of this seemingly benign term. After some field work, Bill uncovered a 1998 piece of collateral authored by the software firm Softscape. Said Kutik about the find:

“The graphic is a delightful historical artifact, an antique really by computer industry standards.”

Oh 1998, you quiet breeder of verbal misanthropes. In so many ways those were much simpler times, as little did we know what had been unleashed in that innocuous one-page document.

Eleven Years Later – A Global Pandemic

Although modern technology still lacks the tools to measure the pervasiveness of this crisis, we do know a few things for certain:

• A Google search results in 6.25M links referencing this disease.
• Many who employ the term – let’s call them “term-ites” – are consciously and overtly promoting adoption, thus perpetuating the spread. 
• Small, medium and large organizations in virtually every industry and geography have embraced the phrase.
• It supports billions of dollars in revenue and may be difficult to stop.
• Most don’t realize that we even have a problem.

The Frightening Precedent

HR in particular is highly susceptible to the spread of language flu. A few examples include:

• “Personnel” – According to one account, it began in the late 1800s and continued into the late 1970s/early 1980s. Fortunately, a series of “human resources” injections did eventually stem the tide. Yet much to our dismay, in some organizations “personnel departments” still exist without an appropriate quarantine.
• “A Seat at the Table” – For at least twenty years, HR has parroted this phase and clamored for this elusive chair. The saddest cases involve the patient’s inability to appropriately secure the seat or locate the table. The only known cure involves HR embracing their business leadership position without the need for absurd monikers.

Why It’s So Scary

Many of you may be asking yourself:

“So what’s the big deal about talent management?”

Other than your obvious need for immediate medical attention, let me attempt to explain:

• Employees Are Not “Talent” – For most of us, work isn’t a strip club, so identifying our workers as “the talent” is a bit of a non-starter. And like it or not, many of our organization’s positions neither require a significant amount of talent nor reward the application of said talent. 
• The Invention of Language – As a society, we typically adopt new terms when we believe that the existing body of knowledge fails to adequately carry meaning. So why have we distinguished ”talent management” from “human resources”? Did HR fail to appropriately address comp, performance, learning, etc.? Couldn’t you argue that everything HR does is for the purpose of securing, managing, measuring, rewarding and sustaining so-called “talent”? 
• Vendor Differentiation – Believe what I’m about to tell you as the gospel… The holy grail of vendor marketing is the creation and invention of a new business category or phrase. Perhaps more important is that only your firm supports the core features and capabilities of this new term. Why did Softscape invent “talent management”? Because it gave them the opportunity to define what it is and thereby force other vendors to be compared against that definition. Keep this in the back of your mind when you read about HR 2.0 (or some fool’s blog post about HR 3.0).

The Race For The Cure

I’m not going to lie to you – knowing that this disease has progressed for this long creates quite a challenge. However, with the right level of education, focus, support and treatment, I believe we can rally together and survive this language pandemic.

Do you think you have the cure? If so, please be sure to post your comments and thoughts, and let’s keep the conversation going.